Brisbane, 8 October 2012: Clayton Utz is delighted to support another talented Queensland artist to further invest in their career, with photographic and performance artist Henri van Noordenburg named the winner of this year's $10,000 Clayton Utz LAUNCH Art Award.
Henri's winning work, 'Composition XI', was selected from 32 finalists by acclaimed artist Michael Zavros. Michael described the work has having a "timeless quality - it could have emerged at any point in history. It looks both back at historical tradition and toward a contemporary Zeitgeist. It also describes spent time - the artist's hand carefully erasing, scraping back the surface of the paper to reveal a storybook landscape that the artists describes as a 'modern utopia'."
Two other finalists were awarded a Highly Commended: Joel Rea for 'A New Day', and Alun Rhys Jones for his work 'I Feel More Watching TV'.
Clayton Utz Brisbane partner in charge Alan Maguire said the firm was proud to support another talented artist through the Clayton Utz LAUNCH Art Award. "The LAUNCH Art Award continues to attract a rich and diverse body of work reflective of the depth of the artistic talent we have in Queensland. We're delighted to be able to play a small part in helping our artists to continue to invest in their careers and have their work showcased to a wider audience."
The award winners were announced at a function at Clayton Utz's Brisbane offices on Thursday 4 October. The winning artist's work and that of the finalists can be viewed at www.claytonutzartaward.com.au. The works will be on display at Clayton Utz's Brisbane offices in Riparian Plaza until 27 September 2013.
Now in its fifth year, the Clayton Utz LAUNCH Art Award (formerly known as the LAUNCH: Clayton Utz Travelling Arts Scholarship) is a $10,000 prize available to Queensland-based or artists with a strong connection to Queensland, working in any medium.
Since its launch, the Clayton Utz LAUNCH Art Award has helped both emerging and established artists, including Queensland photographic artist Kate Bernauer (2011 winner), Haruka Sawa (2010 Winner), and Gemma Smith (2009 Winner) to further their careers.
Clayton Utz would like to acknowledge and thank Lethbridge Gallery for managing this year's Award. The gallery's director Brett Lethbridge said: "We are delighted to co-ordinate the Clayton Utz art prize particularly as it promotes and encourages local Queensland artists and introduces them to an audience they wouldn’t normally engage with − a mutually beneficial meeting of arts and law."